Born Ladonna Adrian Gaines, Donna Summer was a famous singer and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts. She was born on December 31, 1948. She started signing in her church choir and then later sang in clubs around Boston. She was apart if the German musical production, Hair, and studied opera with the Vienna Folk Opera. She met with producers Giorgio Miroder and Pete Bellote to create several Europop hits. Later she became a in the U.S. with her song “Love to Love You Baby”.
In 1976, Summer moved back to the U.S. and signed a record deal with Casablanca Records. Due to tensions with Casablanca, she became depressed in the 1980’s and suffered from drug and alcohol addiction. Donna wanted venture out into other genres besides disco, but Casablanca kept her from doing so. Summer later changed her lifestyle became a born-again Christian. She stopped singing “Love to Love You Baby” because of it’s erotic nature. Summer won 5 Grammy’s during her career and had songs that hit the Billboard charts. In 1979 and 1980 she was the most successful female artist in America. After her death in 2012, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
Donna Summer has been an influence on many of todays top artists. Beyoncé sampled “Love to Love You” in her song “Naughty Girl”. Besides being a singer, Summer also an actor and ha a recurring role on “Family Matter’s.” Summer also had songs in other genres including pop, R&B, and Dance. She has paved the way for multitalented artists today including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson and more.
